Improved spring-tooth for cultivators



H. FRANCISCO.

Cultivator-Teeth.

2,637. No. 33,641. Patented Nov. 5, 1861.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT C4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.l*

HENRY FRANCISCO, OF IHITE WATER, VVISOONSIN.

lMPRovED lsPRnvG-roori-i FoR'cUL'rlvATous.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 33,641, dated November5, 1861.

To all whom it may] concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY FRANCISCO, of White Water, in the county ofValworth and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Mode ofConstructing Oultivator-Teeth and Ido vhereby declare that the followingis a full and exact description thereof, reference being had totheaccompanying drawings, constituting apart of this my specification ot'my said invention.

Cultivator-teeth which are constructed of thin plates of metal or sheetiron or steel by swagingt-he same in a die into the form as shown in thedrawings, although of the most' approved character for all purposes ofcultiva tion and of Inuch less cost than other teeth, have neverthelessbeen subject, as heretofore constructed, to serious objections.

In order to secure the advantage of the most approved form ot' the lowerworking end of a cultirator-tooth ot' the class above named, and adaptit not merely to the purpose of a scariier, such working end must bemade daring on each side ot' a vertical line in the center ot' the tooth.in order to overturn the soil through which it passes rather than pressapart the soil in itspassage through it, asis the action ofthe ordinarydrag and scaritier tooth. The consequence of such construction, althoughthe best.

for a cultivator-tooth, is that when in use in stubborn ground a heavyleverage or pressure is brought to bearupon the lower, forward andaring, and working portion of the tooth,

'and the strain thus thrown upon its shoulder, at which point it isattached to the beam of the cultivator, results in the bending andbreaking of the tooth at that point, or the wrenching and loosening ofthe bolts which pass through the shoulder and the beam. It' in the useof the tooth, therefore, it happens not to be broken by being suddenlybrought up by an obstruction in its path, the bolts, by such strainsot't repeated, work loose, enlarge the holes through which they pass inthe beam, and thus permit the tooth after a little use to wabble. Italso frequentlyhappens, particularly when the-wood of which the beam isconstructed is cross-grained, that a heavy wrench sidewise upon thetooth will split the beam, and thus render the whole implement for thetime being useless.

The object of my invention is therefore to overcome these objections;and my invention consists in so constructing the shoulder ot' acultivator-tooth between the point where the upper main portion orstandard of the tooth comes in contact with the beam and thepoint atwhich the bolts pass through saidshoulder to secure the tooth to thebeam that between said points there shall be a sufficient spring orelasticity to the shoulder to compensate for any unusual strain upon thetooth, and thus relieve the implement from damage incident to its use asabove noted. This object may be accomplished in two ways. First, whenthe shoulderismade of the same thickness of metal as the body ot' thetooth, by leaving a sufficient length of metal or space between the topot' the standard where it comes in contact with the beam land the pointin the shoulder where the bolt passes through to allow ofthe necessaryyielding ofthe tooth; or, second, by cutting away between these points aportion ofthe superticies ofthe metal composing said shoulder.

To enable othersskilled in the arts to make and use my invention, I willnow proceed to describe its construction and operation as requiredbystatute, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and lettersof reference marked thereon, like letters indicating the same parts inthe several figures.

Figure lis a longitudinal vertical section, showing the tooth asattached to its beam and in a state of rest. Fig. 2 is a like view,showing the action of the tooth when obstructed in its path and thefunction performed by the check-brace. Fig. 3 isa rearview of the toothand shows the cutting away of a portion ofthe supercies of the shoulder,by which the shoulder may be made shorter than shown in Figs. 1 and 2,and yet allow the desiredaction ofthe tooth.

a is the beam, to which the cultivator-tooth B is applied, the two beingsecured together by means of bolts c passing through the shoulder d andbeam and there held by screw and nut upon the bolts. Forward of thetooth B, I attach a check-brace, e, to the beam a by means of a bolt, asshown in the drawings. This check-brace extends down to a point nearlycentral of the length of the tooth and passes through a rectangularopening` in said tooth,

which opening is of a greater length than the width of the ilattenedportion f of the checkbrace and of a sufficient length to allow oftheplay of the partf therein when the tooth is in the act of being forcedfrom its normal position by any obstruction in its path when iu use. Theflattened portion of the check-brace terminates in a head or detent, y,which limits the extent of the backward movement of the tooth B, asclearly shown in Fig. 2. The check brace is also provided with ashoulderon either side of the attened portionfin front of the tooth, (clearlyshown in Fig. 4,) so that said shoulder (marked in said Fig. 4) willcome in contact with the front of the tooth, and thus prevent the toothfrom being bent forward and upward toward the beam a in case, fromcasualty or otherwise, a heavy weight should fall upon or at any time beplaced upon the frame of the cultivator.

Cultivator-teeth ot' the class shown in the drawings and constructed ot'plate or sheet metal in the usual way with my improvement theretopossess all the advantages without any of the objections heretoforepertaining to such teeth, and this without the introduction of acast-iron shank for strengthening the tooth at the point upon whichtheprincipal part of the strain comes.

What l claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. A spring oultivator-tooth constructed and operating substantially inthe manner and for the purpose herein described, in combination with acheck-brace, substantially as described.

2. So constructing the shoulder of a cultivator-tooth that when theworking point of the tooth is arrested by any sudden obstruction thestrain upon the tooth will be relieved by the action of the shoulder,substantially as described.

Witness my hand in the matter of my application for patent on improvedcultivatortooth this 20th day of September, 1861.

HENRY FRANCISCO. Witnesses:

N. S. MURPHY, S. M. BILLINGS.

